Chuck vs JD Hogg
by Poa
Summary: One-shot. Chuck finds himself out of his element while on an off-site install for Big Mike's cousin. Road racing, a little shuck-n-jive, and a kiss from a pretty girl!


This story is a gift for my friend, Truthseekr, who has brightened my world and given me the joy of laughing more in the past few months than I have in my entire life.

I would like to thank my friend and fellow writer, Timewalker05, for his editing and support.

Chuck vs. J.D. Hogg

Chuck grumbled under his breath as he drove the Nerdherder north along the I-212 freeway. An off-site install. But not just any off-site install; it was a favor to Big Mike. Well, not really a favor, so much as an order. Apparently, Big Mike had a cousin, thrice removed, who was in need of some technical expertise during a massive computer install. It would include the city hall, the Sheriff's office, and the courthouse. He turned on the blinker and got off the freeway onto a blacktop two-lane. Forty miles to go, and he'd already been driving an hour.

_I Melt with You_ by Modern English began to play, and Chuck reached over to the passenger seat and picked up his phone. An image of Sarah smiling in her Orange Orange tank top appeared on the phone.

"Hi Sarah," said Chuck.

"Morning, Chuck! Where the heck are you?" Sarah sounded a bit perturbed.

"Off-site install for Big Mike's cousin. Out in the middle of nowhere, apparently."

"Weren't you supposed to take Casey?"

"Yeah, but Big Mike insisted that Casey stay for the special on the Beastmaster Grills. Said Casey was his best salesman. We figured it would be okay for me to go alone if I kept in touch by phone."

Chuck turned off the blacktop onto a dirt road, slowing the car so as not to hit any major potholes.

"Well, be careful, Chuck. And hurry back."

"This sounds like a nightmare, so I'll probably be gone most of the day."

"I'll be waiting in your room." Sarah ended the call.

Chuck raised his eyebrows and accelerated a bit. Why would she be waiting in his room? She drove him crazy sometimes. Well, most times. He shook his head. Okay, all the time.

Half an hour later, a large, crumbling sign loomed ahead. Welcome to Hazzard County.

Finally, thought Chuck, giving the GPS monitor a quick glance. Straight through to the town. Not much out here, he thought. The landscape was dotted with clumps of old trees and scrub brush. Other than the occasional wheat field and some broken down farmhouses, there were no signs of civilization.

Suddenly a siren sounded and he glanced in his rearview mirror. An old white car with flashing lights filled the mirror, and Chuck pulled over to the side.

A police officer got out of the car and approached the driver side of the Herder. He was tall and wore a blue uniform with a black tie and gold star pinned to his shirt. He gestured for Chuck to roll down the window.

"What can I do for you, officer?"

The officer laughed strangely. "Don't play innocent with me, young feller. You sped right by that sign."

Chuck stuck his head out the window and craned his neck, looking for a sign behind him. "There wasn't any sign," he said.

"Son, I am Roscoe P. Coltrane, Sheriff of Hazzard County, and when I say you were speeding, you were speeding. Ignorance of the law is no excuse." He coughed. "Now, that will be one hundred dollars," he said, writing up a ticket.

"A hundred dollars!" Chuck shook his head in disbelief. "That's crazy, I couldn't have been going more than forty-five!"

Roscoe handed two tickets to Chuck.

"What's this one for?"

"For raising your voice to the Sheriff, that's what for," said Roscoe. "Now git outta here before I write you one for loitering on a public road."

Chuck started to protest, but thought better of it. This was one backward county, that was for sure. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he was traveling through the Deep South, where a flurry of snow caused a panic and people trampled each other in the bread lines. He pulled away slowly and was relieved to see the Sheriff's vehicle pass him.

Chuck entered the town of Hazzard a few miles later. Rundown storefronts with old men sitting on benches lined the paved street. Chuck checked his clipboard and confirmed that he was to meet with County Commissioner Hogg; an apt name for Big Mike's cousin, thrice-removed, he thought. He parked the Herder, grabbed his laptop, and climbed the steps to the City Hall.

A small bell on the door dinged as Chuck entered, and he started when he came face to face with the Sheriff, standing behind a large wooden desk.

Roscoe smiled. "So, you've come to pay your tickets already. That's right smart of you, young feller."

"Uh, not exactly," Chuck stammered, taking out his wallet. "Actually, I only have forty-two dollars on me."

Roscoe snatched the bills from Chuck's hand. "That'll do for a start," he said, writing a receipt out and handing it to Chuck.

"Um, I was looking for the County Commissioner."

"You mean Boss Hogg?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," said Chuck. "I'm Chuck Bartowski, Big Mike sent me."

"Oh! The computer guy." Roscoe came out from behind the counter. "He's down at the Boar's Nest, I'll point you in the right direction."

They walked outside and down the steps.

"The Boar's Nest is just a short piece down…" Roscoe began.

"Where's my car?" Chuck interrupted, staring at the space where he had parked the Herder. He walked over to the now empty space, quickly checking the area in case he had it wrong and had parked elsewhere.

"Er, ah, you parked it here?" asked Roscoe. He pointed to a tiny sign tacked onto a wooden stake about a foot high off the ground. 'No Parking', it read in small print, 'Violators Will Be Towed'. "Your car was impounded. But it's only a hundred dollar fee and I'll waive the towing expense, since you're a friend of Big Mike's and all."

Chuck shot the Sheriff an angry glare. "There is no way I could have seen that sign from my car; it's too low to the ground. Just what kind of scam are you running here?"

"Now you listen here, sonny. The law is the law around here, and there is no scamming while I'm Sheriff!" Roscoe puffed up his chest. "Now, my deputy had to make a run to the next county for some supplies, and when he gets back this afternoon, he can open the impound lot and you can get your precious car."

"Fine," said Chuck shortly. "In the meantime, how do I get to the Boar's Nest?"

Roscoe looked puzzled for a moment. Just then, a tall, beautiful brunette came out of the bakery next door. She wore a white button-down shirt with the shortest pair of cutoff jeans Chuck had ever seen. She walked to the Jeep CJ-7 parked beside the empty space.

"Daisy," Roscoe called. "Daisy Duke." She turned toward them.

"What is it Roscoe? I'm picking up these donuts for Boss Hogg, and you know he doesn't like to wait for his donuts."

"This here is Chuck, and he needs a ride to the Boar's Nest, if you would be so kind."

"Well, nice to meet 'cha, Chuck," she said with a smile, extending her free hand.

Chuck realized that he had been staring at her long legs, and he looked up quickly to shake her hand. Blushing furiously, he stammered out a greeting. "Thanks for the ride," he said.

"Well, let's get going, the Boss is going to have fits without his morning sugar."

"Sounds like someone else I know," said Chuck, climbing into her jeep.

She drives like Sarah, he thought, holding onto the edge of seat and watching as Daisy's long hair flew back with the wind in the open jeep.

She suddenly turned and peered at him over her sunglasses. "A little too fast for you, city boy?" She laughed and drove faster.

They rounded a corner and pulled into a dirt lot surrounding a ramshackle building with 'The Boar's Nest' painted on the front. Daisy stomped on the brakes and Chuck was grateful his seatbelt held, or he would have flown head first over the hood of the jeep.

They walked into the Boar's Nest, and made their way through a crowd of people; Chuck was surprised to see so many people drinking at ten in the morning. The wood floor was littered with peanut shells and broken glass. An old juke box played in the corner, but the music was lost in the noise of the crowd. He raised his voice as he followed her. "It sure is busy for this time of day," he commented.

She twisted her head to look at him as she walked. "That's because there's a big race today."

Daisy held the box of pastries with both hands over her head, and an older man, obviously drunk, stepped behind her and slapped her rear end. He turned and raised a fist in salute to his friends. Daisy spun around, flexed her knee and planted the sole of her high heeled shoe directly onto his butt. She gave a mighty shove with her leg, and he fell forward onto his face with a satisfying splat. His friends jeered and Daisy smiled triumphantly before moving on.

They entered a side room through a door, and Chuck found himself confronted with his first sight of Boss Hogg, who was sitting in a barber's chair, eating what appeared to be raw liver. The man was dressed entirely in white, including his shoes. Gray tufts of hair were slicked down the sides of his balding dome with oil, and a gold pocket watch chain gleamed against his white vest.

"Well, it's about time," said Boss, dabbing at the bloody juice on his chin with a corner of the red and white checked bib he wore. He took the box of donuts and opened them, fishing out his favorite, Boston crème, with a chubby hand. He took a huge bite, and the cream oozed between his fingers. "Who's this guy?" he asked, his voice muffled from the donut.

Chuck stepped forward. "I'm Chuck Bartowski," he said.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah," said Boss excitedly. He licked his fingers and slid out of the barber's chair, handing the box to Daisy. "So, Big Mike said you were the best."

"Uh, well, I guess so," said Chuck.

"I'll just leave you fellas to your business," said Daisy, leaving the box of donuts on the seat of his barber's chair. She opened the door and the noise from the bar briefly filled the room until she closed it behind her.

"C'mon, you can start with this one," said Boss, gesturing at a new computer sitting on the desk. "I've got a race to win, but I'll see you back at City Hall later." He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, and Chuck glanced at it.

_A leopard sitting on a grass-covered mound. An old truck filled with moonshine jugs. Boss handing a sheet of paper to an old man in a red baseball hat. An open safe filled with money and bearer bonds. The Confederate flag. A line of casino slot machines. A leopard sitting on a grass-covered mound._

Boss put on his ten-gallon white hat and left.

Chuck blinked rapidly and he reached for his phone. He hesitated. Why bother Sarah and Casey? Boss Hogg was a double-dealing crook, yes, but it hardly warranted the involvement of the CIA and NSA. No, he decided, it was better to get the job done, find his car, and get the heck out of Hazzard County. He could always have Sarah or Casey alert the local authorities when he got back home.

He worked on the computer, installed the necessary software, then stood up and stretched. Just then, Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe entered, talking excitedly. Boss pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it. "You all done here?"

Chuck nodded. "But I need a ride into town, my car was impounded."

Boss turned to Roscoe. "You impounded his car?"

Roscoe took his black hat off and stammered a bit. "Well, Boss, you see… well he parked in a no parking zone."

"Well, you can take him back to town then-- after the race, of course."

"Race?" asked Chuck.

Boss strutted over to some framed pictures on the wall. He pointed at a black-and-white photo of himself standing next to an old Plymouth. "I won the annual Hazzard County Moonshiners Race six years running, back in the day."

"Boss, it starts in just ten minutes; we'd better make sure Enos is ready."

"Enos is our deputy, and he's about to win this year's race. This year is extra special because the Bridgerock Tire Company is offering a $10,000 jackpot" said Boss slyly. "Enos agreed to let me have the winnings in exchange for my giving him the day off to race." He laughed. "And Enos is a sure bet, especially since the Duke boys are out."

Roscoe laughed. "Them boys have won the last four years, but not this time!" He laughed again. "You see, Luke busted his leg falling out of a hay loft with LaWanda Trite last week, and we had Bo's license renewal papers delayed…"

"Shut up, you dimwit!" exclaimed Boss, taking his hat off and using it to hit Roscoe over the head. "Go check on Enos."

They filed out of the Boar's Nest and Chuck was amazed to see the mass of people standing around four vehicles. Suddenly another car roared up in a cloud of dust, the horn sounding out the first eleven notes of _Dixie_, and a blonde-haired man wearing a cream yellow shirt slid out of the driver's window. As the dust cleared, Chuck found himself admiring the bright orange Charger, numbered 01 and with a Confederate flag painted on the top.

The blonde man ran up to Boss waving a sheet of paper. Daisy hustled her way through the crowd to see what was going on.

He handed the paper to Boss.

"Seems my license renewal ended up in Chickasaw County," he said. "Luckily, Uncle Jesse has a friend at the DMV who noticed." He grabbed back the paper. "I'm legal to race, now."

The surrounding crowd let out a cheer, and several lifted their beer mugs in salute. Boss sputtered and stepped away from the crowd with Roscoe.

"What're we gonna do now?" asked Roscoe.

"I'll tell you what you're going to do, Roscoe, you're gonna make sure Enos wins that race!"

"Just how am I gonna do that, Boss?"

"By any means necessary, that's how! Your job depends on it!"

Daisy noticed that Roscoe had disappeared around the corner of the Boar's Nest.

"Bo, sweetie," she said.

"Yes, cousin," he replied with a smile.

"I just know that Roscoe is up to no good, and I'm worried about you not having Luke to keep an eye out."

"Well, it can't be helped. Luke's laid up and Cooter's racing his own car."

Daisy thought for a moment and then grabbed Chuck's arm. "Bo, this here is Chuck, a nice fella from the city. I just bet he could help keep an eye out for trouble."

Chuck eyes widened and he stepped back. "I can't help; I'm not even a car guy."

"Chuck, this here's my cousin Bo. Every year, Boss pulls _somethin'_ to try and sabotage Bo and Luke."

Bo interrupted. "And every year, he fails."

"But this year's different. There's a jackpot, and you know how Boss is about money." Daisy folded her arms and tilted her head.

"Aw, shucks, Daisy, I guess you're right. Wha'cha say Chuck?"

Daisy grabbed Chuck's arm again. "All you have to do is keep an eye out for Roscoe and his tricks. C'mon Chuck, this is for a good cause. When Bo wins, all that money goes right to the County Orphanage. We're going to build them kids a playground!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked up at Chuck.

This is crazy, Chuck thought. This is exactly the sort of trouble he was supposed to avoid. Sarah would kill him if she found out. Still, it was hard to turn down a request from Daisy, and she did give him a ride this morning.

"Well, if it's for the kids and all… and all I have to do is keep watch, right?"

"Hot dawg, Chuck!" exclaimed Bo, clapping Chuck on the back. "We better git! The race is about to start!"

Bo and Chuck ran over to the General Lee, and Chuck climbed in awkwardly through the passenger window. Bo slid in expertly, turned the key, and maneuvered the General into place alongside the other cars. The vibrations from the engine flowed from the seat into Chuck's body, and he tightened his belt nervously.

Bo popped a lever, and a couple of men hurried over and placed a wooden box containing four glass containers nestled in straw into the trunk.

Boss Hogg stepped onto a platform with a bullhorn in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen of Hazzard! Welcome to the fifty-first Hazzard County Moonshiners Race! In keeping with our historical past as the best moonshine runnin' county of all time, each car must transport four jugs of moonshine during the race. Any damage to those jugs results in disqualification."

A woman climbed partially up the steps to the platform and shook her fist at Boss Hogg. He leaned over to speak with her.

"Ahem," Boss cleared his throat and spoke conspiratorially. "At the request of the Ladies' Auxiliary, I will point out that the jugs are actually filled with water, as runnin' moonshine is now illegal." Boss raised his voice again. "Contestants will race around Dewberry Pond and back to the finish line, where Mr. Johnson of Bridgerock Tires will present the winner with a check for $10,000." The crowd cheered again. "Now simmer down! Only one rule to follow: there are no rules!" The crowd roared and whatever else Boss said was lost among their cries.

Daisy stepped out in front of the cars and raised a pair of yellow flags high in the air. Her smile is dazzling, Chuck thought. The drivers revved their engines and Chuck found himself tightening his grasp on the handgrip to his right.

Daisy lowered the flags quickly and the cars took off in a cloud of dust, leaving behind only the scent of burning fuel.

Bo sounded the General's horn and let off a tremendous "Yee haa!" He pressed the accelerator to the floor and the General pulled ahead of the other vehicles.

"How far to the pond?" Chuck asked, practically yelling to be heard over the noise of the engine.

"Twenty miles," replied Bo.

A blue car pulled up beside them on Chuck's side and banged into the General. The driver wore a dirty white hat and sported a large grin with crooked teeth.

"Hey Cooter! I'll wait for you at the finish line!" Bo yelled across Chuck, and then he jerked the wheel right, banging into Cooter's car. Cooter's car skidded off the dirt road into a hay field, but Cooter worked his car back onto the road quickly and fell in just behind the General. While Bo and Cooter were duking it out, Enos flew by in his black car, named Justice, and took the lead.

"I thought this was a race, not a demolition derby," said Chuck, holding the handgrips so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. His shoulder already throbbed from hitting the door when Bo crashed into Cooter's car. I'm going to be a walking bruise by the time this is over, he thought.

"This is a race-- Hazzard style," laughed Bo.

The cars raced single file for a while, and then a white car pulled up alongside Cooter and crashed into him. Cooter turned his wheel hard to the left and stomped on the gas; the white car flew off the road and into an irrigation ditch. The entire front end had been smashed, and the driver got out and shook himself. He threw up his hands in defeat as he surveyed the damage. A driver in a red car passed Cooter during the struggle and took a position behind the General.

"All right!" shouted Bo. "One down, three to go!"

Chuck gulped and slid down a bit in his seat as Bo maneuvered a curve at over 60 mph. The General Lee fishtailed a little, but the tires found traction in the dirt and Bo accelerated even more as the road straightened. Trees and farmhouses flew past the window in a blur, and Chuck wished he had at least asked for a helmet.

***

Roscoe scanned the road with his binoculars, waiting for the drivers to approach. There were two roads around Dewberry Pond, one that traced the outline of the pond closely; and one that swung out in a wide arc before circling the pond. In past years, drivers chose the shorter road (and more than a few drivers found themselves forced into the pond itself). This year however, the shorter road had been designated a natural beauty road, and just last week, work had been started to fix a particularly rough area of the road. A 'Road Closed' sign had been placed at the head of the shorter road where the two roads diverged.

Roscoe jumped and let out a snicker as the cars came into view. Enos was in the lead! This would make his task all the more easier. He jumped in his car and drove around the curve just before the road forked, parking his car off the road behind a stand of bushes. He got out and crouched behind a large tree trunk.

The Justice came up suddenly around the curve, hesitating only slightly before Enos angled it into the longer road. Roscoe ran out and dragged the sign over so that it blocked the long road. He then ran back behind the tree, breathing heavily from the effort.

The General Lee came around the curve and headed up Hazzard's newest natural beauty road. The driver of the red car and Cooter followed closely behind.

As the General passed the fork in the road, Chuck noticed that the Justice was no longer in front of them. "Bo, where did Enos go?"

Bo shrugged, "I dunno, maybe he pulled further ahead of us than I thought."

Chuck thought for a moment. "Do you think he might have taken that closed road?"

"Now why would he go and do that?" Bo wondered.

"What if that road wasn't really closed?"

"That still don't make sense. That road is the longer way around."

"What if," said Chuck, "_this_ is the road that is closed."

Bo smacked his forehead. "Dang it all, you're probably right! I'll bet this is what Roscoe was up to."

Just then, a bulldozer came into view. It was digging out a massive section, leaving a deep trench thirty feet wide cutting across the road. A large pile of dirt lay just to the right of the road.

Chuck closed his eyes and slid down in his seat, bracing for the sudden stop of the General. To his surprise, the General did not stop, and in fact, Bo was accelerating. Chuck opened one eye and realized that Bo was aiming for the dirt pile.

"Hang onto your hat, Chuck!" Bo cried happily. "Yee haa!"

The General hit the pile of dirt and soared into the air over the trench. Chuck opened his eyes briefly and saw nothing but a few clouds in a blue sky through the windshield. He slammed his eyelids shut and prayed for a miracle. Bo sounded the horn and the General landed with a solid thump, bouncing once before sliding to a stop on the other side of the trench. Bo popped the trunk and got of the car to check on the glass jugs; they were still safely nestled in the box. He closed the trunk and stood outside, watching as the red car attempted the jump.

The driver of the red car lost his nerve at the last moment and hit the brakes. The forward momentum carried the car over the dirt pile and into the trench. The driver got out and scooted up the embankment before Cooter arrived.

Cooter hit the dirt pile at full speed, but at a bad angle. He flew over the trench and the car crashed to the ground on the other side, bouncing three times. He landed near the General, and dirt flew up in a wide swath as the tires slid. Bo tried to turn, but he was too late; he caught a spray of dirt in his face.

Cooter cringed as he heard the glass jugs in his trunk shatter when the car hit the ground. He climbed out of his car and walked over to Bo when he noticed that Bo was holding his hands over his eyes.

Chuck also got out of the car and joined them.

"It's my eyes, they're full of dirt!" said Bo.

Cooter ran to his car and got a bottle of water. He brought it over to Bo and poured the water into Bo's hands so he could wash his eyes.

"That's better," said Bo, "but they're tearing up awful bad. Everything is blurry."

"Dang nab it!" exclaimed Cooter. "J.D. Hogg wins again!" He threw his hat on the ground.

"What about you, Cooter?" said Bo.

"My jugs are smashed, he said. "I'd offer to drive the General, but technically I've already been disqualified for busting the jugs."

"Now wait a minute! You've got it, Cooter!"

"I do?"

Bo turned to Chuck. "You can finish the race, Chuck! I'll be right beside you the whole time!"

Chuck paled. "Look, I'm not much of a driver, and…"

"I won't hear of it, Chuck! Think of the Orphanage! We all but promised them kids a playground. And Daisy would be just crushed if we couldn't do it."

Chuck hesitated. "Well, if there aren't any more jumps…"

Bo clapped Chuck on the back. "I knew you were a great guy, Chuck!"

Bo ran over to the General, jumped and slid across the hood to the passenger side, where he slipped in through the window.

Chuck sighed and climbed awkwardly into the driver's window, finding it even more difficult with the steering wheel to contend with. He buckled himself in and started the engine. The steering wheel vibrated in his hands, and Chuck suddenly found himself beginning to the like the idea of driving the General Lee. With a scattering of dirt, the General rejoined the fifty-first Hazzard County Moonshiners Race.

"Pedal to the metal, Chuck!" cried Bo.

Chuck allowed the speedometer to creep up to 60 mph along the straightaway. He was very nervous about driving on the dirt road; he kept imagining that the General would skid off and roll down one of the irrigation ditches. Then, he spotted the Justice off to the right, preparing to merge onto the road ahead of them.

"Enos is up ahead," he told Bo, who was rubbing his eyes.

"Shoot," said Bo, "I was hoping we'd git ahead of him."

Enos sped up and cut Chuck off. The Justice began to pull away, establishing a good lead.

"I can't catch him," said Chuck.

"Look for a fence line along the left side, and when you see the gate opening, drive through it."

"You mean off the road?" asked Chuck.

"It's our only chance; a little cross country won't bother the General a bit," Bo reassured him.

Chuck saw the fence line and the open gate. He slowed and drove through the gate into a large pasture.

"Straight across the field, you'll come back out on the road, and then it's only a couple of miles to the finish line," said Bo.

Chuck experimented with the accelerator, getting a feel for how much he could push the General on the rough land. He noticed a barn near the middle of the field, and he headed toward it, figuring the ground might be smoother. A group of cattle were grazing to the left of the barn, so Chuck aimed for the right side. Just as he approached, several cattle ran from behind the barn to the right, and Chuck didn't have enough time to stop.

"Hold on, Bo!" he yelled, jerking the car to the left and entering the barn through the open doors. He hit the gas and closed his eyes as the General exploded through a pile of hay bales and then through the barn wall, emerging unscathed on the other side.

"Yee haa!" yelled Bo excitedly. "That's the spirit, Chuck!"

Chuck looked over at Bo and grinned; bits of hay flew around the interior of the car. His heart hammered in his chest, and he thought he should be terrified; but instead, he was absolutely thrilled. He was more determined than ever to win the race, and he roared through the rest of the pasture, cutting onto the road just ahead of Enos.

He kept the pedal to the metal and flew into the dirt lot at the Boar's Nest, arriving at the finish line in a cloud of dust. The crowd surrounded them and Chuck and Bo got out of the car. Someone handed Chuck a mug of beer, and he drank it gratefully. Someone else from the crowd checked the box in the trunk and announced that all four jugs were intact, and everyone cheered.

Boss took off his hat and turned to Roscoe. "What happened you dimwit?" He hit Roscoe on the head with his hat.

Roscoe ducked and backed into the crowd. "I dunno, Boss."

Mr. Johnson of the Bridgerock Tire Company approached. "Well, J.D., let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

Boss sputtered for a moment; then he smiled at Mr. Johnson. "Why yes, of course," he said.

They went up to the platform, and the crowd parted so Bo and Chuck could join them. Chuck climbed the steps carefully; he was still shaky from the adrenaline rush.

Boss Hogg and Mr. Johnson congratulated Bo and Chuck, and handed them a giant-sized check for $10,000.

Daisy rushed up and gave Bo a hug.

The crowd became silent as Bo raised a hand. "Folks, I just wanted to thank my driving partner, Chuck. He's the only reason we're standin' up here now." He turned to Chuck. "Half of this check is all yours, buddy."

Chuck was astonished, and at first, he didn't know what to say. But then he looked at Daisy, and he knew exactly what to do. "I had a terrific time here in Hazzard, and that's all the payment I need. I'd like my half to go to the Hazzard County Orphanage."

The crowd shouted and cheered, and Daisy stepped over to Chuck and planted a sweet kiss on his lips.

"Aw, shucks, Daisy," said Chuck, blushing.

***

"What do you mean, 'aw, shucks, Daisy'?"

Startled, Chuck opened his eyes and realized that Sarah, whose head was lying on his shoulder, was looking at him strangely.

Morgan smothered a laugh. "Dreaming about Daisy, are we?" he joked. "Don't worry Chuck; I had a crush on her, too."

Anna punched him in the arm.

"Ow," he said.

"And why are you blushing?" asked Sarah.

Chuck stammered. "I, uh…"

Morgan got up, pulling Anna up from the couch with him. "Let's get some more drinks while they work this out," he said. "Coke Zero for you, right Sarah?"

She nodded as Morgan and Anna went into the kitchen. Then she turned to Chuck again. "You know, it was _your _idea to watch the Dukes of Hazzard marathon, and then _you_ fell asleep," she scolded. "And to top it off, you were dreaming of Daisy?"

Chuck blushed again. He didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry," he said, swallowing hard.

Sarah's expression softened. "I think I know how to fix this," she said, leaning close to him. She kissed him softly on the lips, pulling away only when she heard Morgan and Anna returning.

Chuck suddenly felt warm all over, and he smiled at Sarah. "I don't think I'll be dreaming of Daisy anymore."

The End


End file.
